The Barred Owl at Rhinebeck, N. Y. 



89 



On the night of May 24, 1909, a full-grown Barred Owl flew in at the open 

 gate of my empty pheasant-yard, in pursuit, perhaps, of a rat or a mouse, and 

 was unable to find his way out. I discovered him there the next morning, and 

 locked myself and my camera in with him. He was on the ground, and, when 

 I approached him, snapped his beak angrily and rolled over on his back. In 

 reaching down for him I inadvertently stepped too near, and instantly his 

 talons seized my leg and gave me a good warning of what he could do. I found 

 he had no intention of using his beak, so I seized him by the "shoulders;" 

 but somehow he managed to reach me with his claws again and I quickly 

 dropped him, for he raked my wrists like a cat. I finally caught him with a 

 cloth, and thus transferred him to a perch 

 which I had prepared. It was a long time 

 before he would stand on it, as he kept 

 flopping over backward or forward and 

 hanging head down by one foot. He 

 always let go, however, before I could 

 catch him with the lens in this original 

 pose. I eventually obtained several pho- 

 tographs of him and then let him out, 

 but, instead of flying away, he scurried 

 imder a tool-house and remained there 

 at bay. 



The next day, I found him in the 

 pheasant-yard again, hiding in a corner 

 with his eyes almost closed. I photo- 

 graphed him without letting him know 

 that I had discovered him, and then gave 

 him raw meat and water, which he refused 

 to touch. On May 26, I found him on 

 top of another outbuilding, and when I 

 approached he tried to fly away, but, 

 instead, fell headlong to the ground. I now discovered that one of his wings 

 had been injured, probably when trying to find his way out of the yard on the 

 first night. I put him back in the yard, and, as he still refused butcher's meat, 

 I shot a chipmunk and set it before him. By next morning, not a hair 

 remained to tell of the feast; so I gave him an English Sparrow, and by 

 nightfall only a few feathers were left. On the 28th I gave him a mouse and 

 another Sparrow, and later found him with the mouse half-way down his 

 throat, only the hind feet and tail being visible. He had evidently had 

 enough to eat. I also found a pellet under his roost, apparently made up 

 chiefly of chipmunk remains, and the next day another consisting mainly 

 of Sparrow feathers. Thus it apparently took from two to three days for the 

 pellets to form. 



HIDING IN A CORNER WITH HIS 

 EYES ALMOST CLOSED" 



